Summer 2021 RaDAR challenge 7/10/2021

 Yesterday was the Summer RaDAR Challenge.  RaDAR stands for Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio and you can find information about it on the creator Eddie's page http://radarops.co.za.  The basic idea is to be mobile, deploy your station, make 5 contacts, move a pre-determined distance, redeploy and make 5 more contacts, move again, so on and so forth.  It is a great way to get out of the shack, get in nature, get some exercise, and hone your portable operating skills.  

On this outing, I operated from Pine Log State Forest which also has a Parks on the Air designation, K-4635. This allowed me to also activate this park for POTA.  The drive up was was worrisome.  First, it looked like it could rain, and it did a bit on the way there.  Not only that, but my truck's check engine light came on as well.  Well, the skies ended up clearing up and my truck still got me there and back again.  

The parking lot at the trail I walked is near the road.  It has a pavilion and I could have set up there to start, but I did not like the road noise, so I decided to start off with a hike.  After finding a suitable spot, I was able to deploy my station.  Contacts were slow going, but I eventually made my 5 and was able to move to a second location.  I ended walking farther than I needed until I found a second suitable tree to throw my antenna in.  Eventually I was able to make another 5 at the second location.  The temperature and humidity was a killer combination this day and I decided to skip the hike to a 3rd spot and just head back to the truck.  

Like I said, it was slow going with the contacts.  I think next time I will bring the dipole even though it adds a little complexity to deployment.  Both Greg N4KGL and Chris VA3ECO were also participating in the RaDAR Challenge.  I was able to hear Chris, but he did not hear me.  Unfortunately, I did not hear Greg.  I believe he was having WX issues during part of the event. 

All in all, I made 2 RaDAR stops and had 10 contacts and according to the RaDAR rules, gave me a whopping 35 points.  Hope to improve this number next RaDAR event.  However, 10 contacts is also enough for activating the park for POTA.  Could have been better, but I was happy with the activation.  Check out the video below.

Until next time, 73!

-Bob

KK4DIV

Field Day 2021 Report

 Well, Field day was 1 week ago and I guess it is time to post my results.  My wife and I were camping at Falling Waters State Park for Friday through Sunday for the event.  Once again our truck camper setup worked well even though the Florida heat was in full force.  The shade of the campsite helped a lot.  I had purchased a small usb powered 5 volt fan that we ran through the nights off of my battery pack that kept us comfortable.  It is Florida, so of course we had some rain showers.  It got us once while we were hiking the trails, then another while I was operating Field Day.  Using the IC-705 and the Sotabeams Bandhopper antenna, I was able to make 41 total contacts, and sent 4 formal messages for bonus points.  41 contacts may not sound like much, but I operated off and on and was enjoying the camping experience.  Considering I was QRP at 5 watts, I don't think it was too bad.  

Check out the video below.

Well, on to the next adventure...

73

-Bob

KK4DIV